Hi Ashley, Sorry you have been through so much. Here in the states a slip is treated by unfilling the band and letting the stomach resolve itself....if does not then surgical intervention is needed. After removal your stomach should have returned to normal (hence the weight gain) - I know that people do have their bands replaced after errosion so I do not see why you would not be a candidate for the surgery again. The important thing is to find a great surgeon who will be available for your after care years down the road. There have been changes in the buckle system as well as the installation method of the band that are now reducing some of the complications like errosion and slipage and I would recomend that you look into it with a qualified lap band doctor. Come visit on the lap band forum any time. Good luck, Lynn

I've had many anti-depressants and so far none of them agree with me... Bad side effects etc... I've had my new job for 3 months now and one of our workshops has closed down and it looks like I'm going to lose this job now... Thank you very much for your friendly reply. Ashley

Hi Janet. My husband is from Michigan, would you believe it. He is from Lenawee County. I have been over to the States a couple of times and have seen a bit of Michigan which does have some beautiful lakes. I loved the upper penisula and Mackinac Island, just gorgeous I could have stayed and lived there to be honest. I loved it in Summer, but I must say when I was over there last November it was cold... too cold for me. My parents in law thought I was pretty amusing playing in the snow and complaining about the cold, which to them wasn't so bad. I did try to tell them I come from an Island in the southern hemisphere which is weather wise very mild and we just dont get down to -20 temperatures. The snow was gorgeous and a bit of a novelty for me as we dont have snow where I come from in Melbourne. My husband and I are planning to go back next year but I have already warned him it has to be in summer. Anyway I am amazed you can pretty much eat anything you want just in smaller amounts. My food always needs to be softended and I am a bit limited in what I can eat. I always tell my husband I would love nothing more than a plain sandwich with peanut butter, but bread is so hard from me to eat if at all. Although I do believe not eating bread has really helped with my weight loss and made a huge difference in how much weight I did lose. I find the morning incredibly difficult to eat anything and will usually have sustagen or up and go (protein drinks), as that seems to be all I can manage in the morning. I can eat a little more at lunch, but dinner is the best time for me, as eating does come easier and the band then doesn't feel so tight. I do try and drink through the day but I must admit I am not too good at that. I try not to have too much junk food in the house, but I do find if I have a peice of chocolate or ice cream when I get the craving which is not often, I only need a little bit and then I am over it. When I refrain from anything sweet for too long I then can get a bit crazy and abuse the food and I think my weight shows I am not abusing those foods. I think my weight gain has mostly been from lack of exercise as my diet and quantities have not changed in the least. I am glad to be back exercising and even though I dread going to the gym, I always feel so much better after my work out and I know it really is doing my heart, body and mind good. I have regualr blood tests and my B12 is always low and requires me to have shots every couple of months. My other levels have come down, but is being managed with diet and not requiring further shots at this time, thank goodness. I have taken supplements in the past and taken them if necessary. Even though the last 4 years have been difficult and challenging at the time, making the decision to have the lap band procedure was the best decision of my life and I would do it again and again. In fact I wish I had made the decision to do it much earlier than I did. Although I can see for some people it may not be the right procedure for them. Anyway I need to get going, have plenty of chores to do. Take care and speak to you soon. Marita

Hi Janet. It is a small world isn't it. Bachus Marsh is on the other side of Melbourne to where I live but I am familiar with the Bachus Marsh area. I live in the new suburb of Lynbrook with my gorgeous american husband, which is in the south east area of Melbourne. We are lucky to only live 20 mins to the beach, 20 mins to the mountains and 40 mins to the Melbourne city. We couldn't ask for much more. I wish you all the very best luck with the exercise and weight loss, I am sure you will be down a further 20 pounds by Christmas. If you are determined to do it, you will I am sure. I have been sitting at 86 kg for the last 19 months and lost the majority of my weight in the first 2 years. I had the adjustable gastric lap band put in back in March 2002 and have about 5.5 cc's, which I had put in 2 years ago and thought that would be sufficient. I have gotten a little lazy actually, probably alot lazy and complacent and have decided in the last few weeks to get back into the exercise. I am hoping at this stage all I need to do is get back into the exercise and watch what I eat, rather than putting more saline into the band. I don't eat alot at this stage and am quite limited in what I can eat and am a little nervous about restriciting my diet even further, particulary with the loss of alot of vitamin and minerals I am already lacking. Do you have any issues with low iron, zinc and B12? I go to a gym 4 times a week for an hour or more to do alot of cardio and weights and am really watching what I eat, so hopefully I can work off a further 10-15 kg in the next 3-4 months. I am in no hurry and am prepared to increase the workouts rather than have more saline put in, but I will just monitor over the next few months and see how I go. Do you have any issues with getting enough fluids in between meals and are you limited in what you can eat at all? Do you have to take supplements or have any injections for low iron or B12. Tell me if I am being nosy, but I am curious how other lap banders are managing and if we have any similarities etc. I live on alot of very soft vegetables, rice, eggs, fish, chicken, yoghurt, milk, rice crackers, vegetarian sausages and patties and when I have been very good occasionally chocolate and ice cream which I really do try to keep to a minimum. It great chatting with you. Take care and good luck. Marita

Hello! Thank you so much for posting! I really appreciate it alot! I have gotten back on the band wagon with walking 40 minutes a day and I'm also doing light weights 3 times a week. I have been stuck at 279 pounds since July! I really want to be smaller. Now that I know you have done it, I believe that I can as well! I have the VG band with 8 ccs! I'd love to be down 20 pounds by Christmas! That is going to be my mini goal! Oh, I have a very good friend that lives in Buchus Marsh(I know that I did not spell that right)! He and his wife work in Melbourne. I guess It really is a small world sometimes! Have a wonderful day! Janet